Bear Digest

Ben Johnson Set to Interview Curious Candidate for Bears' OC Job

The Chicago Bears may once again tap a relatively unknown position coach to be their offensive coordinator.
Pete Martuneac|
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When news broke last year that the Chicago Bears were hiring Declan Doyle as offensive coordinator, most Bears fans didn't know how to react. The 28-year-old tight ends coach from Denver was a complete mystery and had no real track record in the NFL upon which an opinion could be formed. Now, that process may be repeated in 2025.

The Bears have begun the process to replace former offensive coordinator Declan Doyle after he accepted the offensive coordinator job in Baltimore last Friday, and the first name up for an interview is not likely to be one that anyone expected. Per NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the Bears have put in a request to interview Arizona Cardinals' passing game specialist Connor Senger for their newly-opened offensive coordinator job.

Senger played quarterback at Wisconsin and Wisconsin-Oshkosh from 2013 through 2016 before becoming a college football coach. In 2023, he joined the Cardinals as an offensive quality control coach before being promoted to assistant quarterbacks coach in 2024 and passing game specialist in 2025. According to Rapoport, he interviewed last week with the Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers as a quarterbacks coach.

Connor Senge
Nfl Cardinals Offensive Assistant Coaches Introduction | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Bears fans must once again trust Ben Johnson

As was the case a year ago when the Bears hired Declan Doyle, Bears fans are going to have to blindly trust that Ben Johnson knows what he's doing. We really don't know anything about Senger except that he's young, hungry for more, and could be a rising star in this league. Sound familiar?

At least this time around, the trust that fans must place in Johnson is not 100% blind. He has earned the benefit of the doubt even after just one year. After all, his debut season with the Bears was a smashing success that saw the Bears win the NFC North for the first time since 2018 and end their 15-year playoff win drought with a miraculous Wild Card win over the Packers. If he thinks Senger is offensive coordinator material, then Bears fans will have to believe it.

We'll have to see who else gets called into Halas Hall for interviews in the coming days. I'd imagine that they want to get this process wrapped up quickly so the coaching staff can get to work identifying which players on the roster to retain, and which free agents and draft prospects would work best for Chicago's new offensive coordinator, whoever that ends up being.

Ben Johnso
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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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